Jacquard for circular-knitting machines



Nov. 30,1926. 1,609,143

1.. TOTH ET AL JACQUARD FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 12, 1924 :s sheets-sheet 1 ATTORNEY Nov. 30 1926.. 1,609,143 v L. TOTH ET AL JACQUARD FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 12, 1924 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllllllllllllllllllll 1 I: a ll I "JIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllh". A

' I vs TORS' t BY Z I ATTQRNEY No v. 30,1926. 1,609,143

L. TOTH ET AL JACQUARD FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 12, .1924 s sheets-sheet 5 llllllllllllllllll Illlll f Z INgTORi v 55g ,dzw

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT omen LOUIS Torn, or BROOKLYN, AND LEON LEWIS, 0F volvxnnsfnnvv ironic ssiqnoas,

Y MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 AMERICAN RAYON raonocrs compan on, A con- PORATIO'N OF DELAWARE.

JAcQtIARn For: CIRCULAR-KNITTING ii/iAoHI'Nns".

Application filed September 12, l t S M. Serial No. 737,250.

The object of our invention is to provide a very simple and etficient jacquard device for controlling the formation of the stitches or loops in a circular knitting machine, in order that the knitting machine may be caused to produce various designs or patterns composed of plain or groundwork stitches intermixed with special stitches. I-Ieretofore, it has been customary to provide special or cut wheels for controlling the beards of the knitting needles so that by holding certain beards in closed position and others in the open position Variations in the formation of the stitches were produced under the control of the special or put wheel. For the regular groundwork stitch a wheel was used which had teeth for engaging every beard of the many needles. The special or cut wheel produced a special or fancy stitch according to the formation of theperiphery of this wheel; and various mechanisms have been used for placing either one of the wheels into operatiom such as a cam, but such mechanisms have not bee'en adapted to produce more than a limited variation of pattern. In the presentdevice it is possible to produce by means of a simple jacquard card a great many patterns or designs by means of the automatic control. For instance, the special stitch may be formed at difleient intervals around the tube of fabric on one line of stitches and at other intervals on succeeding lines of stitches, in order to create ett'ects similar to the grain of Wood, moire effects, various figures, and in fact almost any simple or complex design may be formed accordinfi to the perforations in the jacquard card. These results are obtained in the present case by means of very simple devices which may be attached to or applied to knitting machines now in general use so that it is unnecessary to construct a special machine for the employment of the present invention. Other advantages will be set forth in the following detailed description. In the drawings forming part of this application, v Figure 1 is an elevation of part of a circular knitting machine having the present invention applied thereto, 7

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the solenoid and the wheels for controlling the needles;

Figure 4 is a side-elevation of the same parts,

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 4, v

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view showing the action of the wheels on the beards,

Figure 7 is a sectional view showing the circuit controlling levers and the manner in which they are operated by the jacquard card,

Figure 8 is a sectional View taken on the line 88 of Figure 7, and

Figure 9 is a perspective view showing a portion of the pattern controller-for jacquard card adapted to be used with the present ma chine. i

Figure 10 is a diagram of the electrical circuits.

It is to be understood that the present invention may be used in conjunction with a single or multiple feed or; in other words, in a machine where a single thread is fed to the circular bank of needles, or where two or more threads are simultaneously fed to the bank of needles. lVhere the machine is being operated with a single teed there will be one set of devices as described hereinafter, whereas for operating with a multiple feed certain parts of the mechanisni will be duplicated according to the number of feeds; although the same jacquard card may be used for either the single or multiple feed. In Figure 1 there is shown a portion of a tube of fabric 1 which is being formed or knitted at the circular bank of needles 2 supported upon the usual needle frame or base 3 which latter is adapted to be revolved with the carriage 4 in accordance with the present practice in circular knitting; machines. Each needle 2 is provided with the usual beard 5 and as is well known in the art, different stitches may be formed by the control of these beards; and as the construction of a stitch is such as follows standard practice it is unnecessary to the understanding of the present invention to describe in detail the formation of the stitches.

In. the several figures of the drawings there is shown an upper Wheel 6 which is jour-' naled to turn freely'upon a vertical shaft 7 which i carried by arm 8 suitably supported upon a frame 9 which is attached by means of the bracket 10 to the bed of the machine. The arm 8 is adjustably held on the frame 9 by means of the screw 11 so that the arm 8 may be adjusted toward and from the bank of needles sufficiently to secure proper position of the wheel 6 in relation to the beards of the needles. The wheel 6 is of a special or cut type, having slots 12 in its periphery interspaced with small grooves 18 the wheel being adapted to be revolved by contact with the several needles in he bank. then the slot 12 registers with the beard of a needle such beard remains open, whereas when a groove 13 registers with a beard the wheel forces the latter into closed position; and these slots and grooves may be cut in the wheel 6 in various arrangements or patterns, according to the particular type of specia stitch which is to be produced upon the fabric. Vhere the beard remains open it will. be understood that the loop is not cast of? but is held by the needle until some succeedlng operation. whereas, when the beard is held in closed position the loop is cast oil;

It may here be stated that except for the devices herein described the entire knitting machine, including the feed. cloth wheels and lander wheels and cast-off wheels may all conform to standard practice. This special or cut wheel is so mounted that it is always in operative position in regard to the needles although it will only ClOl'Q certain beards, according to the formation of its periphery, but it is in active position in relation to the bank of needles at all times. There is a slide 1 1 slidably mounted in the frame 9 and on one end it carries a vertically disposed shaft or stud 15 on which is mounted a. beard wheel 16 which turns freely upon this stud and it lies in a horizontal position parallel with and adjacent to the upper wheel 6. This latter wheel 16, is adapted to cause the formation of the plain or groundwork stitch and for this purpose its periphery is of sawtooth formation with regularly formed ser rations or teeth 17 which are adapted to act upon the heard of each successive needle while this wheel is in active position, the wheel being adapted to be revolved by the needles as they pass it. The slide 14 on which this second wheel is carried extends acro s the frame 9 and it is adapted to be moved in one direction by means of a coiled s ering 18 one end of which is connected with pin 19 on the slide and the other end of which is connected with the hook of an adjusting screw 21 carried by the bracket 20 which is secured to a bar 21 of the frame. This spring tends to move the slide let in the direction which will cause the wheel 16 to move away from the needles. There is a solenoid 22 mounted upon a member of the frame 9 and having a magnetic core member 23 projecting at one end; and this solenoid is adapted to attract an armature 2t which is shown of L shape and attached to the slide it by means of the screw 25. There is a screw extending freely through an aperture 27 in the armature and it is adapted to screw into an aperture 28 in the frame, the purpo;:e of the screw being to limit the moven'zent of the slide l t to the left in Figure l.

The device for controllinc the operation of the electric circuit. which includes the solenoid, as follows:

In Figs. 1 and 2 there is shown a gear carried by the shaft or central post of the needle carriage and there is a gear 30 mounted on a short shaft 31, having its bearing in the bracket 37, forming aart of the casting which is attached to tne bed of the machine. Also fixed on the same shaft with the gear 30, so as to turn with gear 30, is a mitre gear which meshes with and drives another initregear 33 which is fixed to a shaft illalso having it-z bearings in a portion of the casting 87 t iis latter shaft being disposed at right angles to the shaft 31. On the opposite end of the shaft 3% there is a sprocket 35 over which travels the chain 36 and the latter also travels over the sprocket 38 which is loose on the shaft or bar member 39. This member 39 is nonrotatably bracket supported from the table or bed of the machine. The chain above described, is here shown as designed to cause the sprocket 38 to make one revolution for every revolution of the needle bank. On the shaft 39 there is a pair of sprocket wheels 40 which are spaced apart by an intermediate ring 41,, the sprockets and'rings being clamped together by means of the screws 42 so that the three parts revolve on the shaft 39 as a unit. A set screw 66 fastens them to sprocket The pattern controller which is the acquard card 4:3 shown in Figure 9, in addition to a central row of pattern markings, i. c. perforations 44 to be referred to hereinafter, also has near each side edge a row of regularly spaced perforations 4-5 which register with the teeth l6 of the sprockets 4-0 so that the jacquard card may be positively fed through the action of the teeth 16 projecting through the feed perforations d5 of the card. and the intermediate portion of the card containing the row of perforations it rests against the periphery of the spacing ring 41.. This jacquard card may be made of stock such as flexible cardboard or heavy paper such as is commonly used for various jacquard cards. I

In addition to traveling around the sprockets 40 the jacquard card also passes around an idler roller or rollers such as 47 attached to some part of the supporting table, it being intended that the card should be joined together to form a continuous strip.

nxed in 2:

ill

There are shown in the present drawings two circuit controlling devices as the ma chine is set up for. a double thread feed, but it will be understood that there may be only a single circuit controller where there is a single thread feed or there may be three, four or more circuit controlling members where a corresponding number of thread feeds are employed on a machine. These circuit controlling devices are preferably adjustable in position to accord with the positions of the thread feeding devices in relation to the needle bank. In Figures 1, 7 and 8 there is shown a disc 48 mounted on and fixed to the shaft 39 and there is an arm 4-9 pivoted upon the shaft '39 and projecting horizontally past the sprocket wheels 4:0. The position of this arm 40 is adjustable by means of the screw .50 in the arouate slot 51 in the disc 18. The arm l9 also carries a plate 52 having a binding post 53 to which one end of the wire 54: connects, the other end connecting with the lever arm 55. The plate 52 has also a 0st 56 in which is mounteda contact screw 57 which is adjustable in the post and which is adapted to be fixed in position by the set screw 58. The lever pivoted to the arm 49 by the screw GOand one ar1n61 of this lever, which is very short, comprises a pawl having a narrow edge which is adapted to be acted upon by the jacquard card where the latter lies against the'face of thering 41. The other arm 55 of this lever is'considerably longer than the pawl and is adapted to makethe contact With'the contact screw 57. There is a coiled spring 62 having .one end attached to the lever arm 55 and the other end is attached to a bracket 63 carried by the arm ll), and this spring tends to draw the arm 55 into contact with the 0011 tact screw 57 and to maintain the pawl 61 in contact with the jacquard card or with the ring 41. The second circuit controlling device is shown in the drawing as positioned ninety degrees from the one just described and its construction and operation are the same with the exception that this vertical arm 4-9 is arranged on a pivot pin 64: in a slot in the disc 4C8 so that it may be swung into a position to bring the pawl 61 into engagement with the jacquard card or it may be swung entirely away from the card to take it out of operation. This may be desirable where the machine is changeable from a double to a single feed 01 vice versa. As the construction of both controlling de: vices is otherwise thesame the same reference numerals have been applied to both of these devices. It will be understood that the wires 65 connected with the coil of the solenoid and wires connecting with the binding post 53 and with the post 57 are connected in series with source of current such as the electric light circuit of the building. although the source of current may be a battery if desired. T he electrical circuits are shown in Fig. 10.

O pe r'ation.

The jacquard card will have a row :of perforations 44; extending along the middle of the card as shown in Figure 9 and these perforations will be of different lengths and will be spaced different distances apart, according to the pattern which is to be produced in the fabric. The pattern to be Worked out in the jacquard cardwill perforated on any suitable perforating machine which is no part of the present invention. The jacquard card will be threaded on the teeth of the sprockets l0 and around the idler 4'7 and the two ends will be connected in any suitable manner so that the card forms an endless belt. In the drawinglhe card is exaggerated in thickness for the purpose of illustration. hen the machine is in operation the needle bank and frame will berevolved counter-clockwise, in Figure 3, in the usual manner, and motion will be imparted through the chain of gears shown in Figure 2 and through the chain 56 to the sprocket 38 and this will revolve the sprockets 40 which are pinned by the pin to the hub of the sprocket '38 these members revolving freely on the shaft 39. As the jacquard card is drawn around the periphery of the ring 11 by the sprockets l0, it acts upon the pawls 61 of the contact levers. and if the thread feeds are positioned ninety degrees apart around thebank of needles these contact levers will be spaced ninety degrees apart, so that the cardwill act upon the pawls 61 at different points corresponding with the positions of the thread feeds'on the machine. As each contact arm 55 is connected with a separate solenoid and controlling device (see Fig. 10), each. contact arm will separately control a stitch forming device so that each of these performs {the same operation but at different positions around the bank of needles, Considering one of these'circuit cont-rolling devices and the associated mechanisms, the operation will be as follows, it beinghnderstood that the other devices are duplicates and operate the same, As a solid portion of the card passes under the pawl 61 the lever 55 is rocked against the resistance of the spring 62 until the free end of this lever disengages from the contact point 57 and this breaks the circuit which includes the source of current and the coil of the respective corresponding solenoid. WVhile this condition exists the slide 14 is held in the left hand position in Figure 4 so that the wheel 16 is disengaged from the beards of the needles; When a perforation in the jacquard card registers with the pawl 61 the 9 periphery of the wheel 16 aligns with theperiphery of the fixed wheel 6. Thus the circuit will be alternately opened and closed by the contact arm and the periods during which the circuit is opened and closed will vary according to the arrangement and length of the various perforations 441 in the jacquard card, and these periods will all be timed in relation to the revolution of the needle bank and therefore with the formation of the stitches by the knitting mechanism.

At all times the wheel 6 is in position to act upon the beards of the several needles, and when the wheel 16 is in the retracted position shown in Figure 4c the special stitch will be formed by the wheel 6 according to the shape of its periphery. This action will result whenever the solid or imperforate part of the jacquard card holds the pawl 61 over in position to keep the contact arm 55 away from the contact screw 57. \Vhen a perforation in the jacquard card comes into registry with the pawl 61 the latter passes through the perforation and the outer end of the contact lever 55 strikes the contact screw 57 and this closes'the electric circuit and energizes the coil of the solenoid. The magnetic pull of the solenoid 22 attracts the armature 24 and this forces the slide 14 to the right in Figure 4: until the wheel 16 is pressed against the beards of the adjacent needles and until the wheel 16 vertically aligns with the wheel 6. Both wheels will now be revolved by the needles, that is to say, while the solenoid is energized. As the lower wheel 16 engages the beard of every passing needle while itis in the active position. the action of the upper wheel 6 will simply be nullified and the ordinary ground or plain stitch will be formed in the fabric instead of the special stitch which was previously formed under the control of the upper wheel. This action will continue until a. solid portion of the jacquard card lifts the pawl 61 and disengages the contact arm 55 from the contact screw 57. When this occurs the circuit will be opened, deenergizing the solenoid, and the spring 18 will move the slide 141- to the left in Figure 4 and retract the wheel 16 from the needles. This, however. leaves the upper wheel 6 to engage with the needles so that this wheel again functions to cause the production of the special stitch. These operations may be repeated at short or long intervals, according to the pattern produced. As the pattern may be varied both circumferentially and lengthwise of the fabric any form of design may be produced. It will be noted that the needles are always under the control of either the wheel 6 or the wheel 16 and it is preferable that the upper wheel remain con stantly in the operative position. Both of the circuit controlling devices shown in the drawings operate in the manner just described and additional controlling devices may be provided for controlling any additional sets of beard wheels.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

1. The combination of a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a plurality of beard wheels adapted to operate at the same point on the beards of said needles. and means for moving one of said beard wheels into and out of operative position, including a solenoid adapted to move one of said beard wheels into operative relation with the beards of said needles, a spring for retracting said beard wheel out of operative posi-- tion, a jacquard card, and means controlled thereby for energizing said solenoid.

2. The combination of a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a plurality of groups of beard wheels, each group comprising a plurality of wheels adapted to operate at the same point On the beards of the needles and said groups of beard wheels acting at different positions on the bank of needles, a jacquard card and means for operating it, and. a plurality of devices simultaneously operable at different points on the said jacquard card, and means controlled by said latter devices for separately causing one of the beard wheels of each group to be moved into and out of operative relation with the bank of needles.

3. The combination of a knitting machine having a bank of needles. a plurality of beard wheels adapted to operate at the same point on the beards of said needles. one of said wheels being stationary. a movable slide on which the other of said beard wheels is mounted to move into and out of vertical alignment with the stationary beard wheel. a solenoid, an armature mounted on said slide and adapted to be moved by said solenoid to place the movable beard whee]. into operative position, a spring for retracting said slide. a jacquard card and means controlled thereby for energizing said solenoid.

4. The combination of a knitting machine having a bank of needles. a plurality of beard wheels adapted to operate at the same point on the beards of said needles. and means for moving one of said beard wheels into and out of operative relation, including a solenoid, a jacquard card, a lever having one arm actuated by said jacquard card, an other arm of said lever being adapted to loo lll)

make and break an electric circuit including said solenoid.

5. The combination of a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a plurality of beard Wheels acting at the same point on the beards of said needles, and means for moving one of said beard Wheels into and out of operative position, including a revolvable support and a jacquard card travelling around said support, a lever having one arm engaging and controlled by said jacquard card, another arm of said lever being adapted to open and close an electric circuit, and electric means actuated thereby for moving one of said beard Wheels.

6. The combination of a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a plurality of beard Wheels acting at the same point on the beards of said needles, and means for moving one of said beard Wheels into and out of operative position, including a revolvable support and a jacquard card traveling around said support, a lever having one arm adapted to be actuated by said jacquard card, another arm of said lever being adapted to control an electric circuit, means for adjusting the position of said lever around said revolving card support, and electrical means controlled by said lever for moving one of said beard Wheels.

7. The combination in a knitting machine, of a circular bank of needles, a plurality of spaced groups of lmitting-controlling Wheels, electrically actuated means for controlling the position of a Wheel of each group, a jacquard card, and a circuit opening and closing device, responsive to said card, for each of said means, one of said circuit opening and closing devices being adjustable to and from another of said circuit'opening and closing devices.

8. The combination of a bank of needles, a plurality of spaced feeds therefor, each feed including a plurality of knitting-controlling Wheels, a pattern controller means for operating said controller, and a plurality of means responding to the same pattern markings of said pattern controller for causing a Wheel of each feed to move into and out of operative relation with the bank of needles, each of said means causing the movement of a Wheel of one of said feeds and said means being spaced apart so as to be acted on successively by the pattern controller, the spacing between said means relative to the pattern controller being equivalent to the spacing between the feeds relative to bank of needles.

Signed at the city, county and State of New York, this 10th day of September, 1924.

LOUIS TOTH. I LEON LEWIS.

Hil 

